Main Street church seeks room to grow

Historic W. Dundee congregation moving

Like many other fixtures in downtowns across the country, First Congregational Church is leaving its home for the last century--in historic West Dundee--for a new place on the edge of town.

As members prepare to vacate the Main Street location, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, they're leaving behind a piece of local history. The original church was established in 1841, and the current one opened at Main and 5th Streets in 1902.

Older churches looking to expand ministries and services such as day-care centers often face the same dilemma as downtown businesses: They have to move to grow.

"Unfortunately, it's a trend in the older downtowns," said Sam Santell, director of planning for the Northeastern Illinois Planning Commission. "The infrastructure is moving out and following the suburban flow."

First Congregational Church is selling the building for $1 million to Bethlehem Lutheran Church, which is next door and also on the national historic register.

The church will break ground this summer on 7 acres along Illinois Highway 31, land donated by the Haeger family, longtime members of First Congregational.

Alexandra Haeger Estes Zachrich, a fourth-generation member of the church, has fond memories of the historic building.

"I'm such a traditionalist, being in that place, feeling all the memories of my ancestors there," Zachrich said.

Yet she said, "I understand the need today for churches to become different to attract more people and keep them coming."

Zachrich, great-granddaughter of the founder of Haeger Industries, said the family decided to donate the land for the new church three years ago.

The land, which sits on a rise across from the Haeger mansion, is worth more than $2 million, church members said.

"We thought it was a lovely place . . . for building a new church," said Zachrich, the president and chairwoman of Haeger Industries, a pottery manufacturing company in East Dundee.

The Haeger family came to the Dundee area in 1853, not long after the township was formed, and its members have given the church a number of gifts. Among them is the stained-glass window facing Main Street, one of several that will be moved to the new building.

"The thing that is nice about [the new location] is it's in Dundee, not on the fringe. It will be a beautiful symbol as you drive . . . on Route 31," said Zachrich's husband, Craig, an architect and chief operating officer of Haeger Industries.

First Congregational is working to raise $5 million to build a new sanctuary and offices.

"We are trying to maintain the traditional feel of our present church," said Lee Anderson, head of the church's building committee.

Seating in the sanctuary will double to 400 to help accommodate the 600 active members. The new site also will have more than 200 parking spaces. The downtown site has only 37 spaces, so members must park on residential streets. And the church plans to develop a stage for musical performances and update the nursery.

Rev. Jeffrey Dire became First Congregational's senior co-pastor, along with Rev. Pam Pendexter, in April. He said the church plans to survey the community to determine its needs and develop programs.

"Our goal is to reach out to the unchurched," Dire said.

Meanwhile, Anderson and his committee are working with the architectural firm of Saavedra & Gelhausen in Rockford to design the church. Plans are not complete, but so far they include a 140-foot steeple that will be illuminated at night and, in a nod to history, the stained-glass windows.